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1 Samuel 4:15
ESV Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see.
NIV who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see.
NASB Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were fixed and he could not see.
CSB At that time Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes didn’t move because he couldn’t see.
NLT who was ninety-eight years old and blind.
KJV Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
NKJV Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see.

What does 1 Samuel 4:15 mean?

This verse provides details which explain the dramatic nature of this moment. At ninety-eight, Eli is old and completely blind. This means some time has passed since young Samuel delivered his first prophecy from the Lord to the priest. Back then, Eli's eyesight had only begun to grow dim (1 Samuel 3:2).

Why did the Lord allow Eli to live so long when He told Samuel that He was about to punish Eli's house forever (1 Samuel 3:13)? This fits with the Lord's words to Eli through the unnamed prophet (1 Samuel 2:34) even earlier when He declared that all of Eli's descendants would die young: "The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart" (1 Samuel 2:33). The Lord allowed Eli to live long enough to experience the grief of losing his sons in confirmation that his household would continue to experience grief and loss long after he was dead.
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